Beehive Works

A purpose-built cutlery works, now offices and workshops. Built in phases between the late 1850s or early 1860s and around 1890. Brick with stone dressings, slate roofs (concrete tile and slate to the central L-shaped range), corrugated asbestos roofs to single-storey buildings in the second courtyard, and brick stacks.

Plan

The works has a double courtyard plan on a rectangular site bounded on three sides by Milton Street, Headford Street and Egerton Lane. The front range faces Milton Street. A workshop range with attached industrial chimney stands to the rear of the large north-east courtyard, on Egerton Lane. A deep workshop range is located to the rear of the second courtyard, at the south-west end of the site, on Egerton Lane. An L-shaped central workshop range sits between the two yards, with its shorter, deeper arm separating the two workshop ranges on Egerton Lane. Former house and workshop buildings stand on the north-east side of the large courtyard, on Headford Street. Various buildings occupy both courtyards, and a brick footprint of a free-standing industrial chimney survives in the north corner of the large courtyard.

Front Range (Milton Street)

The front office and showroom range is three storeys with a cellar beneath bays nine to twelve from the left at the south-west end. It comprises eighteen bays built in three phases extending south-westwards. Straight joints to first-floor height between bays eight and nine, and between bays twelve and thirteen, indicate that the earlier parts of the range were originally two storeys, subsequently heightened when the eight left south-western bays were built.

The façade has a plinth, first and second-floor sill bands, and wooden gutter brackets. Windows are twelve-pane hung sashes with segmental brick lintels; those to the ground floor have individual stone sills. Between the first and second floors is a painted sign reading 'BEEHIVE BRAND GREGORY FENTON LTD. KNIVES AND TOOLS', continuing on the right return as 'GREGORY FENTON LTD. BEEHIVE WORKS'.

Bay seventeen contains a cart entrance to the large courtyard, with ashlar jambs and imposts, depressed arch and oversized keystone. The arch is painted with 'BEEHIVE WORKS' and has plain wooden double doors. To either side of bays eight and nine is a wide warehouse doorway with stone sill set above ground-floor level and segmental arched head. The bay nine doorway has a half-glazed double door with overlight, whilst that to the left has been altered to form a window. Bay one contains a round-headed doorway with stone imposts and oversized keystone, and modern panelled door with fanlight. Bays two and sixteen contain doorways altered from windows: bay two has a plain door with overlight, and bay sixteen has a modern panelled door with overlight.

Workshop Range to Rear of Large Courtyard

This three-storey range has fourteen bays to the courtyard elevation. Bay three contains an attached square chimney base of brick with a circular ashlar plinth for a truncated industrial chimney. Wide small-paned casement windows (six panes wide) on the ground floor are partially obscured by a wall. Narrower small-paned casements on the upper floors are four panes wide by four high, with brick soldier lintels and no sills. Bay nine has a round-headed doorway at mezzanine level, providing access to upper floors.

The rear Egerton Lane elevation has twelve similar windows to each of the upper floors and five inserted windows with brick sills and segmental brick heads to the ground floor. An inserted vehicular entrance is located to the right at the south-west end. The range has a gable stack, two ridge stacks (truncated) and two eaves stacks to the yard elevation.

Central Range

This three-storey L-shaped building has a deeper, shorter arm adjoining the workshop range to the rear of the large courtyard. The range faces into the large courtyard. The ground floor of the longer arm has a blocked window with shaped brick head in the first bay from the left, four segmental arched heads of individual hand forges (one now blocked and built over with external steps, two converted to windows with modern small-paned window frames, and one now with plain timber double doors). The second bay from the left contains a covered cart entrance with segmental arched head through to the second courtyard.

Upper floors comprise fourteen bays with casement windows with soldier lintels and modern or altered frames. A round-headed doorway at first-floor level has external steps. The shorter arm has a tall round-headed doorway in the left corner. To the right of the doorway is a door and casement window sharing the same frame with shaped brick lintel, with similar casement window to the right. A straight joint indicates this window too originally had an integrated door. Upper floors have five bays of casement windows similar to those of the long arm.

The rear Egerton Lane elevation has a ground floor with blocked grille to the left, two metal ventilators and inserted window openings and doorway. Upper floors have nine window bays with casement windows with two-light multi-paned frames.

Workshop Range to Rear of Second Courtyard

This four-storey deep range faces into the courtyard. Ground floor windows are not visible. The first floor comprises seven bays with exceptionally tall small-paned casement windows of varying widths with segmental arched heads and stone sills. Windows in bays three to five have wooden cross frames with upper lights each three panes wide by three deep, and lower lights two panes wide by three deep. The third and fourth floors comprise nine window bays of two-light multi-paned casements, some frames replaced or altered, with segmental arched heads and stone sill bands. The fourth floor has an inserted doorway in the sixth bay from left, with external metal staircase.

The rear Egerton Lane elevation has an inserted window (blocked) and doorway opening on the ground floor. The first floor is blind, with eleven window bays with renewed two-light multi-paned casement windows to the second and third floors. There are four gable stacks and two eaves stacks to the courtyard elevation.

Buildings on North-East Side of Large Courtyard (Headford Street)

A two-storey building is attached to the front range, with an abutting single-storey range. Both have altered and inserted openings.

Courtyards

The large north-east courtyard contains a single-storey building in the centre of the yard, and the base of a free-standing circular chimney in the north corner. The second south-west yard contains three single-storey buildings, two with corrugated asbestos roofs.

Interior

Only part of the front range and part of the ground floor of the central workshop range were inspected internally. The front range has to the left a cantilever stone winder stair with cast-iron anthemion balusters and ramped handrail. The first floor is divided by transverse brick arches. The ground floor of the shorter arm of the central range contains a high-ceilinged fireproof room with bearing boxes for line shafting.

History

Beehive Works was originally known as Milton Works. Its first known occupants were B Mathewman and Sons. By 1888 the primary occupants were the Atkinson Brothers, who remained at the works into the 20th century.

Significance

Beehive Works was identified as being of special architectural and historic interest by English Heritage during a thematic survey undertaken to assess the best surviving examples of buildings associated with Sheffield's metal manufacturing and metal working trades. It was identified as an extremely good and complete example of a large purpose-built integrated cutlery works dating initially from the late 1850s or early 1860s, with rapid expansion thereafter during the 1870s and 1880s. The complex was built as a mechanised works, with a larger steam power plant being built as more grinders' wheels and power forges were added. This type of complex is very distinctive to the industrial identity of Sheffield, which, in the later 19th century was known throughout the world as a centre of excellence in the manufacturing and processing of steel. Against the loss of many such buildings in the late 20th century due to the severe decline of the industry, Beehive Works is an important survivor. It demonstrates the layout and building types of such a complex, being particularly significant for the retention of grinding hulls, extremely rare survivals of buildings related to a specific process in contrast to the more generic cutlers' workshops, with probably only around eight sites in Sheffield retaining physical evidence of grinding. This survival makes Beehive Works a complex of particular importance in the light of an enhanced appreciation and understanding of Sheffield's industrial metal-working buildings. Beehive Works also has a strong group value with Nos. 94, 96, and 100 Milton Street, and Taylor's Eye Witness Works, Milton Street.